First National Trust Co Has $1.62 Million Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

First National Trust Co cut its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,866 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 118 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $1,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NSC. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 14,810 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,917,000 after acquiring an additional 3,905 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 110,341 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $21,729,000 after acquiring an additional 759 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,158 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 40,500 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $7,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,649 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. 75.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Norfolk Southern Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NSC stock traded up $1.75 on Friday, hitting $235.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,072,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,327,953. The firm has a market cap of $53.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $249.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.68. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $183.09 and a twelve month high of $263.66.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.58 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Norfolk Southern’s payout ratio is 86.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Norfolk Southern from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $272.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $236.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.32.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.